Popular and Polarizing: Philadelphia reacts to the death of O.J. Simpson
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- At a barber shop, there's no shortage of conversation.
"There's conversation about everything -- politics, crime," said Randall West, of Moorestown, NJ, as he sat in the first chair inside First Decisions Unisex Hair Salon in University City.
Some of the conversation inside that shop on Thursday was about the death of O.J. Simpson.
"We're sad, it's going to be a great loss," said Suran Casselle who owns First Decisions.
READ MORE: OJ Simpson dies at age 76 after battle with cancer, family says
Simpson was a football legend who was both popular and polarizing.
Casselle recalls Simpson's early years as a Heisman-winning football star and the first Black man hired for a major national corporate advertising campaign.
"I do remember the commercial with him running, the OJ commercial, he's jumping over all these different things," he said of the Hertz commercial that featured Simpson running through an airport and dodging obstacles to get to his rental car.
The conversation on Simpson takes a turn, though, when it comes to Simpson's murder trial.
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"When they said he was not guilty, there was shock. I was shocked because Black people never got that kind of verdict," said West.
Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in what was called the trial of the century.
"This case riveted the world. It actually changed the way we watch television," said Nancy Glass who covered the trial as it went on for months.
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Glass is now the host and executive producer of the podcast "Confronting: OJ Simpson." It's a deep dive into the case through the eyes of Ron Goldman's sister.
"She loved her brother so much and everybody forgot about him," Glass said of Kim Goldman's search for answers in the podcast.
People on the streets of Philadelphia also had opinions on Simpson and the murder trial from decades ago.
"It was such a sad story," said Tom Groll, of Upper Gwynedd. "Obviously (I was) sad for the victims. I don't know that justice was served. I think there are a lot of questions after that."
Casselle has the opposite opinion.
"I still think he's innocent till this day," he said.
In a separate civil trial, Simpson was found liable for the murders and was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson declared bankruptcy and never paid any of the money.
There was also the 2007 Las Vegas robbery case in which Simpson was convicted of attacking men who he says were in possession of stolen memorabilia.
Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was released after serving nine years.
The twists and turns detail the rise and fall of OJ Simpson, still making him a topic of conversation even in death.
"It'll stand out in people's minds forever," said West.
